Nightmare or Reality?
by Shadow Elf Warrior
Summary: A nightmare brings Heero to Relena in the middle of the night. Will his dream come true, or will he find another path? HeeroRelena pairing. Really fluffy, so beware. One-shot


**_AN: heyla, so here's my fist gundam wing fic, and of course it's between Heero and Relena, cuz they're such a nice couple//grins\\ and they have so much crap going on between them. they're such good story fodder, wouldn't you agree? well, enjoy!_**

**_Disclaimer: i do not own Gundam Wing, never have, never will. (it is still a cool series though) //hopeful grin\\_**

* * *

Heero Yuy stood in the shadows of the conference hall balcony like usual, his piercing eyes carefully scanning the audience for any sign of hostile intentions. His mission, as always, was to protect the Vice-Foreign Minister, Relena Darlian.

He and Relena had always had a complicated relationship. There was much speculation amongst those they called friends that the two of them were a couple, and typically, most such comments came from Duo Maxwell. Such things used to be said to their faces, but that stopped after Heero almost shot Duo in the head. Heero had purposely fired next to Duo's ear, signaling to Duo that if he didn't leave that topic alone, Heero wouldn't "miss" next time. After that incident, all the annoying talk seemed to come to a dead halt, strangely enough.

He shook his head when he realized that he wasn't focusing. His duty was to guard Relena, not to stand there daydreaming. Forcing himself to refocus, his eyes moved throughout the hall. He could easily see Quatre in the audience, where he was listening to Relena, and Trowa and Wufei acting as bodyguards in the stage wings.

A sudden dark shape moving where there shouldn't have been caught his attention, and he turned to focus on it. Knowing that the others would be watching him for cues as well as watching the audience, he slowly inched his way to a better vantage point. As he moved forward, he spotted several shadows, and none of them were wearing the jacket that identified them as Preventors.

Heero's instincts warned him that these people were not here for the simple purpose of listening to a speech. No, something about the way they moved said that they were here for something else, something dangerous.

"Get ready." He whispered into his small microphone. Down below, Wufei and Trowa tensed and unlatched their guns, mentally prepping themselves for a fight.

Before they could prepare themselves though, the intruders beat them to it.

Gunfire rang through the hall, and the audience panicked.

Heero jumped down from the balcony and raced to cover Relena. Before he could make it more than five feet from his drop-off point, however, three masked men jumped in his path and began firing at him. Heero leapt to the side, and shot their guns from their grasp and turned back to Relena…

Only to see a large, bearded man come up behind her. He had enough time to see the leader grin, and raise his gun to point at Relena.

**BANG!**

The bullet went right through Relena's stomach, and she froze in shock, before collapsing.

Heero watched in horror as she reached out her shaking hand to him from her position on the floor, her blood pooling around her. "Hee…ro…" She managed to say, before her eyes turned lifeless.

He fell to his knees, and cried out.

"RELENA!"

* * *

"RELENA!"

Heero sat bolt upright in his bed, hand still outstretched, sweating and gasping for breath. He brought his hand to his face. "It was… just… a dream." He muttered. "That's all. Just… a dream." But no matter how much he tried, he couldn't calm himself down.

Leaping out of his bed, he grabbed his everyday clothes consisting of a green tank top, and black shorts, quickly changed, and bolted out the door. He knew that there was only one way to verify things and it had to be done now.

He was in such a rush that he forgot his gun, lying on the table by his bed.

* * *

The room lit up as lightning flashed across the sky. The thunder that followed immediately afterwards proved that the storm was directly overhead when it shook the entire mansion. Relena Darlian woke with a start. Moaning softly she rolled over and looked out the window. Seeing the lightning flashing outside, she quickly sat up and grabbed her robe from beside her bed.

Flinging the robe around her shoulders, she walked over to the windowed doors that opened up onto a balcony and gazed out at the storm. Ignoring what Heero had told her about the dangers of standing near windows, she placed her hand against the door, and gazed out at the pounding rain. Ever since she was a little girl, she'd always been fascinated with storms. They had always seemed so elegant to her.

Relena chuckled softly to herself. She sounded like Dorothy and her utter fascination with wars. Oddly enough, though, she and Dorothy had become close friends, and Relena had come to rely on the strange girl. Dorothy would often try to get Relena to lose her political way of speaking, at least when it was just the two of them, but because Relena had always spoken that way, it was rather difficult to stop. Relena just felt more comfortable speaking like that.

Suddenly, a hand reached up and grabbed onto the edge of her balcony. Relena gasped, and ducked behind the curtains framing the door, leaning forward to peek outside. She watched as a dark shape pulled themselves up onto the balcony, and stopped, staring at her door.

Relena frowned. 'Hang on,' she thought. 'There's something almost familiar about that person. Don't I know them?' Lightning flashed just then, and the mystery person was lit up. Relena's eyes widened. 'A tank top and shorts? Short, ragged hair? It has to be Heero!' She darted out from her hiding place, and opened the door, ignoring the rain that now pelted her body.

"Heero? Is that you?" she asked cautiously. She frowned, narrowing her eyes against the harsh wind. After all, if it wasn't Heero, then who knew who it could be. Although, Heero was the only one she knew of who might be on her balcony in the dead of night. And even if it wasn't, Heero himself had taught enough self-defense that she could protect herself until she could escape.

"…Relena?" Relena's eyes widened. It was Heero's voice, but there was so much confusion and anguish behind that one word, that it was hard to believe it. After all, it was the rare occasion indeed that Heero showed emotions. Even now that there was peace, he remained distant, removed from those who would call him friend. Or in Relena's case, maybe something more.

Realizing that the rain was ice cold, she darted over to him. Grabbing his arm, she started pulling him inside. "Come inside, Heero. You'll get sick if you stand out here." She frowned when she felt just how frigid Heero's skin was, how limp his arm was, and how he wasn't resisting her touch like normal.

She pulled him inside and over to a chair. Leaving him to sit down, she rushed to the door, and flicked on the light. Turning back to Heero, she gasped again when she saw his eyes. It had been too dark before, but now that she could see clearly, she became terrified for him.

His gorgeous, deep blue eyes were wide and frightened. He stared at the carpeted floor blankly, as if not quite seeing it. Relena wasn't sure what was going on, but something serious must have happened to make him act like this.

Quickly, she darted into her bathroom and grabbed some towels, before going back to Heero. "Here." She said, wrapping one around his shoulders. "You're soaking wet. I don't want you to get sick on me." She smiled slightly, trying to lighten the mood with a joke, but when Heero raised his eyes to meet hers, she froze, losing her tense smile.

His eyes were wide and haunted. Relena had never even seen that look in his eyes during the war. What could have put him in this state of mind?

Heero suddenly blinked, and his eyes cleared a little, finally focusing on her face. "Relena." It was as though he hadn't even realized that she was in the room with him. He lifted his hand to her cheek, ignoring the towel that fell from his shoulders.

When his hand touched her cheek, Relena blushed faintly. Heero never touched her. Especially not like this. Before she could comment on it though, the whole situation changed.

Heero suddenly wrapped both his arms around her and pulled her close, burying his face in her hair.

Relena squeaked, her face going completely red, startled by this new development. "Uh… Heero? What's gotten into you? What's wrong?" she managed to ask. It was only then that she realized that Heero was trembling, and a strong hunch told her that it wasn't from the cold. After all, Heero could withstand all sorts of weather conditions, but he'd never started shivering before.

He mumbled something into her hair, but unfortunately, Relena didn't catch it. "What did you say? I didn't hear you." She said. 'What is wrong with him?' she wondered. 'What could possibly make him act this way?'

He pulled back slightly, not enough for her to see his face, but enough for him to be heard clearly. "You're alive." He said, softly. His voice cracked, from the strange emotions that he must have been feeling. He still wasn't accustomed to allowing himself to feel emotions. During the war, it had been too dangerous. And even now that there was peace in the world, he didn't like letting himself open up. He kept everything bottled up inside.

Relena frowned, confused. "Yes, I am. What made you think differently?" She couldn't help asking. After all, why would Heero believe she was dead? He was her personal guard, making sure that nothing happened to her. Even when ordered to take the day off, he always appeared wherever she did, simply because he didn't trust the protection of anyone else. It was rather sweet, in an odd sort of way. Although Lady Une got fairly aggravated by his lack of trust quite often, Relena saw it as Heero's way of saying he cared.

However, at the moment, Heero didn't seem to want to do anything but stay right where he was, and despite the fact that she was enjoying being held by him, she was getting rather uncomfortable with his silence.

"Heero, please. Tell me what's wrong." She said. She wrapped one arm around his back and lifted the other to his head, gently stroking his hair, hoping to calm him down. Slowly, his trembling stopped and he pulled back. His hands were still on her waist, but Relena decided to ignore that fact in order to comfort Heero.

Relena peered at his face only to find his eyes hidden by his long, ragged bangs. On the other hand, however, his cheeks, which were still quite visible, were tinged a distinct, pale red. She smiled softly. So he was embarrassed by his display, huh? 'Gee, how typical. Why am I not surprised by that?' she thought sarcastically, forcing herself not to roll her eyes.

"Heero." Her voice was soft and persuasive. "Tell me what happened. What's wrong?" She pulled him, unresisting, to sit on the couch near the fireplace. Leaving him for a moment, she quickly started up a small fire. Heero's skin was still ice cold, and Relena didn't want him to get sick. No matter how amazing his immune system may be, he was still only human, and humans could quickly become prey to conditions like hypothermia.

Once the fire was going, she sat back down beside Heero, rewrapped him in the towel, and waited for him to speak.

He seemed to be struggling with his words. Relena remembered that he never was one for conversation, so it seemed that she would have to take control here. "Did someone tell you I was dead?" She asked softly.

Heero tensed, but shook his head. "…No." he said softly.

Relena sighed inwardly, and opened her mouth to ask another question when he spoke.

"I…I watched you die in front of me." He said. His body shook, and his hands clenched, causing the knuckles to turn white.

Relena frowned, but didn't speak. It seemed like Heero was finally opening up to her and she didn't want to spoil it by speaking just yet.

"I was watching over you as you gave a speech, when the attack came… A few of them managed to get in my path as I was running to protect you, and I couldn't get them out of the way in time… Their leader walked up behind you and shot you from the back, and…" He choked, unable to continue. He squeezed his eyes shut, and lowered his head, but not before Relena saw the anguish in the depths of his eyes.

Unable to find words, Relena just stared at him, before her eyes softened. Never before had she heard him say that he was afraid. He may not have said it in words, but to those who knew him, it wasn't hard to tell. After all, he was quite accustomed to death, unfortunately, but to everyone's knowledge, no one else's death had affected him so strongly. So if the thought of Relena being killed affected him so much that he couldn't hide the pain the idea brought him, maybe he felt something for her other than as just a comrade or client. Maybe he actually saw her … as a friend. Maybe even… no… best not to go there.

'Although,' Relena thought. 'Nothing like what he is describing has ever happened, and since it is nighttime, maybe it was just a bad dream… Still…'

Knowing that she had to tread cautiously, but wanting desperately to comfort Heero, Relena gently wrapped her arms around him. "Heero, don't worry. I promise, I'm not dead, and I don't intend to die anytime soon. Please, relax. I'm right here." She was close enough to hug him, but remained far enough to see his reaction on his face.

Heero twitched, and slowly raised his head, opening his eyes to stare at her, with something akin to wonder in his eyes, before his eyes closed off. He was returning to his war-trained state of mind, keeping himself far beyond the reach of everyone's emotions.

Relena saw this and tightened her arms around him, lowering her head to rest it on his shoulder. "Heero, please. Don't close yourself off from me." She noticed that he tensed almost immediately when she laid her head down. "Please." Her voice had been reduced to a mere whisper, pleading with him not to go behind all of his barriers again.

She felt Heero's breath leave his body, before his muscles slowly relaxed, his arms lifting to circle her waist. Her breath caught, and a tear made its way down her cheek. He was responding to her! She felt almost giddy with relief and delight.

She felt Heero tense and pull away slightly, but before she could work up a protest, she felt his hand touch her cheek. Relena raised her head to see him frowning slightly, wiping the tear from her face.

"Why are you crying?" He asked, not bothering to hide the confusion in his eyes.

Relena smiled softly. "I'm just glad you're alright now, Heero." When his frown deepened, she elaborated. "I was so worried about you when you first arrived. You looked absolutely terrified. I've never seen you like that before." She laid her head back on his shoulder, and closed her eyes.

Heero was silent for a while, before a soft smile appeared on his face, unseen by Relena. Gently, he laid his head against hers, and was rewarded by her soft sigh, and her cuddling closer.

He sighed regretfully, before pulling away again. When Relena looked up at him, he said softly. "I should go."

Relena immediately protested. "No, you can't! You're still freezing cold, and you'll get sick!"

Heero raised his eyebrow. "So? What would you have me do instead?"

She opened her mouth, and shut it again, turning bright red, looking away. '_Should I ask him to? What will he think? What do I do?_' She thought frantically.

Heero's frown deepened. "Relena?" he asked, obviously confused as to why she was blushing.

"Uh…" Relena scrambled for words. "You could spend the night here!" She blurted out, before flushing an even deeper red, and lowering her head in embarrassment. She hadn't meant to say it like that.

Heero gaped, his own mouth working without producing sound. "Spend… the night? Here?" He managed to choke out. His cheeks turned slightly pink at the idea.

Relena nodded, not meeting his eyes. "It's raining out, and you live almost an hour away by car. It'll take you forever to get back by walking." Where, oh where was her professional attitude now? She couldn't seem to get her face to cool down. "And, well, there are dozens of spare rooms, so, uh, you can take your pick, and, well…" she fell silent, hoping to spare herself from further embarrassment. She peeked at Heero from beneath her lashes.

Heero was silent as well, staring at her with apparent bemusement. He didn't exactly seem eager to make a decision any time soon.

He suddenly moved and Relena was shocked when his hand came up and cupped her chin, forcing her to raise her head. Her eyes snapped up and met his gaze, confusion evident in her eyes.

"Um… Heero, what-"

He placed a finger on her lips to silence her, causing Relena's blush to intensify. His eyes softened, and he pulled her towards him. He brushed his lips against her lightly, before encasing her in his arms again. Her eyes widened in shock.

She barely heard him whisper to her. "Thank you."

Relena smiled tearfully, hugging him back. "Any time." She replied softly.

They stayed where they were for the remainder of the night.

* * *

**_AN: ok, so Heero might be a little OOC in this, but hey whatev. it's my fic, i'll do what i want. and i guess i had you all thinking, why'd he leave his gun behind? is he gonna die? or maybe not, i don't know, i just kinda ended up with it there. it seemed to fit Heero's state of mind at the time._**

**_anyways, please review!_**


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